


Can You Read Between the Lines?

by Bow_Ties



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Library AU, Student!13, Student!Yaz, gays being dumb around each other, idiots to lovers, pure fluff, yes I am back on my bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24019618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bow_Ties/pseuds/Bow_Ties
Summary: Yaz has just started helping out at her university's library when she runs into a chaotic, yet endearing PhD student who somehow manages to turn her world upside down.Charlie is scheduling her library study sessions around the student newly sitting at the front desk - not that she would ever admit to that.Ryan finds it all quite entertaining, and really thinks Charlie should just ask Yaz out already.Will she?
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Comments: 216
Kudos: 216





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> After "To the Top", I realised how much I enjoyed writing idiots to lovers, so I decided I'd write that trope again :)  
> I hope you guys enjoy this - I promise fluff and, well... gay dumbasses :D
> 
> Many thanks to JTtrack2 for beta-ing!

Yaz knew she should say something. She really should. After all, this was a library, not a living room. Yes, the lounge area was meant for more relaxed studying, but no, students should definitely not be taking it as far as this particular one was right now.

She had been watching the blonde for about five minutes now. The student was positively slouching on the lounge chair, lying down on her back with her legs slung over the armrest, a book held up above her head with both arms outstretched. She had taken her shoes off, presenting a pair of entirely mismatched socks to the world, one a dark blue with yellow stars on it, one with rainbow stripes. And although Yaz knew she was supposed to be angry and reprimand the student for misusing the chair like this, she had realised instead that she found the blonde too endearing to be anywhere near annoyed at her. Which, Yaz thought, was quite annoying in itself.

Still, this was her job, and if she wanted to keep it, she should probably toughen up. So, ripping herself out of her thoughts, she finally walked down towards the lounge area, and took a deep breath.

"Excuse me", she said, trying to find the right words to be polite yet strict. "I'm sorry but you shouldn't uhm... maybe you could sit up?"

The blonde blinked sluggishly, as if Yaz had just pulled her out of a different world, and dropped her book.

The moment their eyes met, Yaz drew in a sharp breath, and almost at the same time, a blush blossomed on the blonde's cheeks.

"I'm sorry", the blonde said, smiling sheepishly as she swung her legs down. Her eyes were the softest shade of green Yaz had ever seen. "I can get pretty lost while I read. Won't happen again."

_ I hope it does _ , Yaz suddenly thought, and surprised herself with it.

After a moment in which the two women just looked at each other, neither saying anything, Yaz simply nodded, turning around as quickly as she could without looking desperate to flee, and walked back up the stairs. She could practically feel the blonde’s gaze burn into her back, and she tried her best not to fall into a jog. This was a library. She was working here.

_ Look dignified, god damnit. _

Turning around a corner, she managed to walk back to her desk without making a complete fool out of herself.

“Everything alright, Yaz?”

Determined to not be distracted, Yaz pushed the image of the blonde’s smile out of her mind. When she looked up, she saw her boss standing behind the desk.

“Just had to tell someone off”, she replied.

“Ah”, her boss said, an understanding look on his face. “That’s always tough. You’ll get there.”

Not for the first time since starting her job at the uni library, Yaz was grateful that Graham was the person in charge. He was probably the kindest boss one could have, always making sure everyone was doing alright and felt well on top of things. Basically, he was everyone’s grandpa, which didn’t mean he couldn’t speak strict words if need be. Yaz respected him, and she wanted to make sure she did everything right.

“Anyways”, he said, pulling up a cart of returned books. “Put these back on the shelves for me, will you?”

“Right on it”, Yaz replied, smiling.

She had started working at the library two weeks ago, with the beginning of the semester. It was nice to have some extra income, and on the days where there was little going on, she would find moments to have a look at her own coursework. Most of all, though, Yaz loved that she got to be surrounded by books for an entire day twice a week. There was something soothing in looking for the books’ spots on the shelves or, as Yaz liked to call it, finding their homes. Sometimes, she caught herself whispering “there you go” as she slotted one in, and then she would blush and quickly check that nobody had heard her.

Grabbing the handles of the cart, she wheeled it out from behind her desk. The books had already been organised according to the section they belonged in, and Yaz threw a glance at the first digits on the spine of one of the books.

53.

_ Physics. _

She felt her cheeks grow red immediately. The correct shelf was not only down in the lounge area, it was directly behind the chair that the blonde student had been occupying just moments ago.

“Of course”, she mumbled under her breath.

Gripping the handle of the cart a little tighter, she pushed it towards the elevator. She worked here. She could do this. The blonde was just a student, like herself. She had had to reprimand her - it was her job. So the blonde also happened to be kind of cute. What of it?

Still, Yaz felt unease tighten around her chest as the elevator doors pinged moments later, opening up to the lounge area. As she wheeled the cart out, she threw a quick glance over at the chairs.

“Oh my God.”

The words had escaped her before she could stop herself. The blonde student was no longer lying on the chair. Her legs were slung over the low backrest now, her knees anchored over it as she was lying upside down, the top of her head almost touching the floor.

_ How _ , Yaz thought as she stood still, eyes wide as she stared.

She couldn’t see the blonde’s face, as it was hidden by a book once again, but it must have been bright red with all the blood flowing into it. All she could see was a tuft of hair pooling on the floor underneath the book. And then, a moment later, Yaz’s eyes fell upon the strip of naked skin just above the blonde’s jeans, exposed through her hoodie having ridden up from her unusual way of sitting. If whatever the blonde was doing could still be called sitting.

As soon as her eyes grazed over the exposed skin, Yaz felt her cheeks grow warm, and she had to shake her head to finally snap herself out of it. This was going too far.

“Excuse me”, she called out from the elevator, probably a little bit too loud as a couple of heads turned her way. The blonde however, did not flinch.

Her blush deepening, Yaz wheeled the cart over towards the chair, and cleared her throat.

Still nothing.

_ For the love of - _

“This is not your living room.”

When the words finally broke out of her, they came out a bit harsher than Yaz had intended, but at least they seemed to have caught the student’s attention.

“Huh?” she asked, pulling the book towards her chest. Her face was scrunched up in confusion, and if Yaz hadn’t been consumed by this strange mixture of annoyance and attraction, she would have laughed.

“Please, I’ll have to send you over to the desk area if you keep sitting like this.”

The blonde frowned, then brought herself into a proper sitting position in a series of the most inelegant movements that Yaz had ever seen. Dropping one hand to the floor to keep her balance, she gripped the armrest with the other. Then, she hauled her head up towards it, followed by one leg, then the second, leaving the backrest. It looked like she was spinning her entire body around on an invisible axis, and by the time she was finally sitting upright again, Yaz was glad that she hadn’t witnessed the student breaking her own neck.

“There”, the blonde said, grinning from ear to ear. “All good now.”

The blonde looked so proud and somewhat innocent that Yaz found her previous annoyance evaporate into thin air. The unwanted side effect however, was that the only feeling she was left with now was her sudden and unwanted attraction towards the student.

“Good”, she mumbled. “Just… stay like this, okay?”

“Will do”, the blonde replied, and just before she picked up her book, diving back into her reading, she winked at Yaz.

Clenching her jaw, Yaz tried to ignore her own heart beating a little bit too fast in her chest as she wheeled the cart into the section behind the blonde. She silently thanked whoever had designed the library for angling the rows in a way that allowed her to hide out of sight.

And so she got to work, determined to just concentrate on the task at hand. Soon enough, she found her rhythm, ducking in and out of the rows as she found a place for every book. It was only when she returned to find her cart empty and the watch on her wrist showing five minutes left on her shift that she dared to look over towards the blonde once again.

Yaz tried to ignore her own disappointment as she realised that the blonde was gone, and grabbed the cart to bring it back upstairs.

She parked it in the little room behind her desk, then sat down to log out of her account. Just as she was about to hit the log off button, a shadow fell over her desk.

“I’d like to take these out, please.”

It was the blonde, putting what could only be described as a small mountain of books down on Yaz’s desk.

Frowning, Yaz quickly counted the books. “I’m afraid that’s too many”, she started, but then the blonde interrupted her.

“Ah sorry, I have a permission slip.”

She watched as the student opened her messenger bag, sticking her arm into it without looking as if she was trying to reach down a tunnel. She dug around in it for a few minutes, then sighed.

“I swear I’ve got it, I just always forget...hang on.”

Without another word, she disappeared behind the first row of lockers. She reappeared a moment later holding a long, greyish-blue coat in her arms.

“Must be in my pocket”, she mumbled, then proceeded to turn them inside out.

“Aha!” she finally exclaimed, grinning triumphantly as she pulled a crumpled up piece of paper out. She quickly unfolded it once, twice, then a third time, and handed it over to Yaz.

_ I hereby confirm that Ms. Charlotte Smith has been granted permission to borrow up to 30 books at once, for a total of up to 3 months, according to the special privileges for PhD students. _

Underneath what looked like a stain from a tea mug, the paper bore Graham’s signature, as well as the signature of Professor Lochhead, the slightly eccentric Scottish head of the astrophysics department.

“That looks good to me”, Yaz said, and stood up to pull the books towards her, placing them one by one on the automatic registration field. As soon as the books hit the slightly elevated grey square on her desk, they popped up on her screen.

“Right”, she said as they were all scanned in. “Just need your student ID now.”

“Oh”, the blonde said, and Yaz knew what would happen next.

“Just one second.”

Usually, Yaz would get annoyed quite easily if students didn’t have their ID ready as they came up to her desk. After all, there was a sign up advising them to in order to save everyone’s time. But the way the blonde stuck her tongue out between her teeth as she dug through her bag once again, eyes turned towards the ceiling, made Yaz smile instead.

Finally, the card was found, and the books were successfully checked out.

“Alright, Charlotte, that will be…”, Yaz glanced at her screen. “The 3rd of July for your return date.”

“Brilliant, thanks”, the blonde grinned. “Oh and”, she added as she reached out towards the books. “It’s Charlie.” And then she lifted the books off the desk, her chin pressed down on top of the pile as she balanced it precariously in her arms while walking towards the door.

_ She’s adorable _ , Yaz thought, and wanted to hit herself over the head with a book a moment later.

Sitting back down on her desk to finally log off and be done for the night, her eyes fell upon the blonde’s picture, her library file still open on her screen. She moved the mouse over, closing it with a determined click.

For all she knew, she wouldn’t see Charlie Smith for the next three months, as the blonde worked her way through all that material.

As she switched off the computer and grabbed her leather jacket off the chair, a little voice inside of her head wished that she was wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) If you have a moment, please consider leaving a comment! As always, I love hearing your thoughts :)
> 
> You can find me on tumblr as @fuxdeiflswued


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the idiots roam free once again!

Surely, the woman must be pulling her leg. Either that, or she had spent her entire Bachelor’s and Master’s education never setting foot inside the library. Yes, Yaz had checked in Charlie’s library profile whether or not the blonde had been studying here before or if she had just transferred to this uni for her PhD. And, also yes, she was a little bit embarrassed that she had only lasted about halfway through her next shift before she had pulled up the file on her screen again.

She had a valid reason, she told herself. The student kept coming up to her desk to ask her about things, and Yaz would just automatically open her profile. It was her job after all to keep an eye on things. Charlie needed a lot of help with things - she seemed to be completely unable to decipher the library’s classification system. Which, again, made Yaz wonder whether or not the student had  _ actually _ no idea where to find things, or if she was just somehow making fun of Yaz. Either way, Yaz kept pulling up the blonde’s file on her screen, and she would leave it open for just a little bit after Charlie had walked away.

Just a little bit.

Graham loudly clearing his throat behind her around noon was what had finally snapped her out of just sitting at her desk, chin in palm, staring at Charlie’s picture.

She had clicked the file shut probably a little bit too fast, managing to shove her mouse off the desk in the process.

“I’ll uhm”, she mumbled, trying to follow the cable of the mouse with her eyes to see where it had landed. “I’ll get this later. What’s up, Graham?”

As she sat up and looked over at her screen, she realised with horror that she must have missed the little “x” on top of the window in her haste to click on it. Because the picture of the blonde was still looking back at her, a wild grin on her face as she held a thumbs up in front of the camera.

Yaz had spent about twenty minutes that morning wondering how the student had gotten that photo past admin.

When she realised that Graham was now squinting at the screen, she felt her heart plummet into her stomach.

“I was just -”

“Is she giving you trouble?” Graham asked, leaning towards the desk. “Is she the one you had to repri- Oh Charlie!”

Yaz spun her head around quickly, staring at her boss as she watched a smile spread over his face. Pulling away from the screen, he gave Yaz a pat on the shoulder.

“Charlie’s a bit of a chaotic one, ain’t she? Lovely girl, though. She’s my grandson’s best friend. Known each other for ages! They met by chance on a train one day and we haven’t been able to separate them since.” A wistful look danced behind his eyes for a moment. “Keep hoping they’ll end up together, but it seems that’s not supposed to be.”

He looked over at Yaz again, and shrugged, smiling. “Ah well, can’t force love, eh?”

Yaz felt herself shake her head.

“Anyway”, Graham said. “Just remind Charlie from time to time that she should give sitting upright a chance, alright? She’ll never get there but we’ll keep trying.” He glanced at the screen again, and laughed. “And you’ll definitely get some overdue fines to collect from that one. It’s like she’s trying to fund this institution.”

And with that, Graham walked away, leaving Yaz behind to crawl underneath her desk in search for the lost computer mouse. Somehow, the cable had gotten stuck along the way, and she yanked on it impatiently as she tried not to inhale the dust that had settled in the back corner.

“Hello?”

Three things happened at once: First, Yaz recognised the voice, and felt a strange excitement bubble up in her chest. Second, that excitement was immediately crushed by a tsunami of dread as she realised that she had Charlie’s file still open on her computer. Third and finally, in her hurry to get out from underneath the desk, she jumped, hitting her head hard on the underside of the desk.

“Ouch!” she exclaimed, scrambling to get out from under the desk as quickly as she could, computer mouse in hand. Before she looked up, she practically slammed the mouse down on the desk, and ripped the cursor over to, this time really, close the window on her screen, praying to all the saints she knew that Charlie had not actually seen it.

When she finally did look up, Charlie was simply staring at her, a notebook clutched to her chest.

“Are you alright?” she asked, frowning at the unmoving figure of the usually so lively student.

“Yes!” Charlie exclaimed, visibly snapping herself out of something. “Yes I am. You though! Are you? Did you hurt yourself?”

The blonde sounded worried, her brow creasing as she shot Yaz a concerned look. Yaz tried her best to grab the feeling that look caused inside of her with both hands and strangle it until it went out.

It didn’t.

“I’m fine”, she lied, smiling through gritted teeth as her head started throbbing. “I’ll just get some ice later. Do you need anything?”

The student hesitated for a moment, then finally opened her notebook, showing Yaz a book signature that she had written down inside.

“I can’t find this. What does “Co” stand for?”

“The book is in the compact shelving area”, Yaz replied automatically.

She knew the minute she looked at Charlie that the woman had no idea what or where the compact shelving section was. Again, she wondered how she had managed to survive during her studies so far.

She was about to just send Charlie off in the right direction, when she remembered her training day. When a student asked about the compact shelving system, they were supposed to show them how it worked, in order to avoid anyone accidentally getting hurt in there.

Suddenly, Yaz could no longer feel the pain in her head, and she smiled.

“Let me show you.”

“Oh, brilliant!”

The blonde was grinning from ear to ear now, and Yaz allowed her heart to skip a beat in her chest. Maybe she could show off to Charlie a little bit, it wasn’t hurting anybody after all.    


Yaz got up from behind her desk, and started walking towards the far end of the library, Charlie quickly catching up with her.

“Hey, I was meaning to ask”, the blonde suddenly said as they were walking.

“Do I know you? I feel like we’ve had a class together.”

Yaz didn’t think that they would have been in any of the same classes, giving their entirely different course of studies.

“I doubt it?” she replied, throwing Charlie a glance as they walked around the corner of the Art History section. “I’m getting a joint honours in Social Work and Gender Studies.”

“Gender Studies”, Charlie said, and for a brief moment, Yaz was bracing herself for one of the derogatory comments she had gotten so used to by now. Instead, she watched from the corner of her eye as the blonde’s face lit up.

“Oh!” Charlie suddenly exclaimed. “History of Women’s Rights, Professor Oswald, last year! Yasmin, right?” 

They stopped in front of the compact shelving section, and Yaz turned around in surprise to face the other woman. “Yes! And it’s Yaz to my friends. You took that class?”

“I did”, Charlie replied, grinning. “Like to take lots of different classes, especially ones that don’t have anything to do directly with my field. I knew I remembered you from somewhere! You really got into it with Professor Oswald at some point, didn’t you.”

Yaz felt herself blush at the memory. “I would maybe just call it a heartfelt discussion?”, she mumbled, trying to avert Charlie’s gaze.

But then the blonde laughed, and when Yaz looked up again, there was a mischievous glint in Charlie’s eyes. “I liked it”, she said, and Yaz smiled. “It was quite fierce.”

This time, she didn’t even try to fight down the bubbling feeling in her chest anymore.

Still smiling, she turned towards a long row of tightly packed shelves, trying to concentrate on what she was actually here for. Most of the shelves were pressed tightly against each other, and each of them presented what looked like a little black steering wheel on one end. On the floor, some sort of rails could be glimpsed underneath the edge of the shelves.

“Let me show you how this works.”

She walked towards one of the shelves, checking the number on it to make sure it had the book that Charlie needed, then gripped the wheel with both hands. Slowly, she started turning it, causing the shelf in front of her to move to the side, pushing the ones next to it away as well in the process. After a couple of turns, there was enough space for two people to walk in.    
  


“Tada!” Yaz said, maybe a little bit too enthusiastically, as she turned back to smile at Charlie. 

She should probably just have gotten back to her desk, but she found herself reluctant to do so. So instead, she walked in between the shelves, looking for the code that Charlie had shown her before. The other woman followed close behind her, scanning the opposite shelf.

“Hm”, Yaz said as she found the spot the book was supposed to inhabit empty. “Maybe somebody took it out? Although I doubt it, we don’t have many people in the astrophysics department and stuff is usually available.”

She felt cold rush through her veins as soon as she realised what she had admitted to. Drawing in a breath and holding it, she waited for Charlie to make a comment about Yaz having looked her up. When nothing happened, she finally turned around again, only to find Charlie still with her back to her scanning over the shelves.

“It should be here”, she said, then turned around to look over Yaz’s shoulder, brows furrowed in concentration. “Aha!” she suddenly exclaimed, her face lighting up, and then she stretched out, reaching past Yaz to pull a book out from behind her.

Yaz was pretty sure her heart stopped when Charlie brushed against her ever so shortly just a moment later. When she pulled back with the book in hand, a realisation seemed to hit the blonde as she stopped dead in her tracks, her body still almost touching Yaz’s, her cheeks growing red as her eyes locked with Yaz’s.

They both stood still, yet the world was moving around them. Yaz didn’t understand how she could be this attracted to a person she barely knew, yet here she was, staring into the green sea of her eyes and wanting to drown herself in it.

It took her far too long to realise that the world around her was  _ actually _ moving, and that it really shouldn’t be. 

“Oh God”, she breathed as she realised her crucial mistake, and Charlie’s expression morphed into confusion, then worry.

“I’m sorry”, the blonde started. “I didn’t mean to -”

“Get out”, Yaz said quickly, and now Charlie looked shocked.

“What -”

“Charlie somebody is  _ moving the shelves. _ ”

Yaz had been so preoccupied with the other woman that she had forgotten to hit the little button in the middle of the wheel which would have caused the shelf to be locked in place. This was the reason they were meant to show the students how the compact shelving worked, keeping someone from getting crushed in there.

Without thinking, she reached down and grabbed Charlie’s hand, then turned and pulled her out behind her. As they stumbled out, the shelves closed behind them with a soft  _ thump _ just moments later, and both women let out a relieved breath.

“I’m so sorry”, Yaz said. “I was supposed to show you how to block them, I completely forgot, I -”

But then blonde interrupted her by squeezing her hand, which Yaz only then realised she was still holding onto.

“Don’t worry about it”, Charlie said, smiling. “I quite like myself a little adventure.”

When Charlie finally let go of her hand, Yaz missed the contact instantly.

“Thanks for helping me with the book, Yaz”, the blonde said, and then she turned around and disappeared back into the depths of the library, leaving Yaz behind to simply stare at her hand, missing the warmth that had been there just a moment ago.

Oh, she had it bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶p̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶p̶i̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶a̶u̶t̶h̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶l̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶c̶r̶u̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶p̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶l̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶y̶s̶t̶e̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶s̶e̶l̶f̶
> 
> ANYWAY
> 
> Thank you for reading, and special thanks to everyone who leaves kudos or even a kind word or two :)
> 
> You can come talk to me on tumblr, I am @fuxdeiflswued


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I present to you: Ryan and Charlie, disaster bffs

“She probably thinks I’m an idiot.”

“I mean, if you keep asking her stupid shit, yeah.”

Charlie groaned, dropping her head into her hands. Opposite her, Ryan had a teasing grin on his face as he pretended to concentrate on the notes in front of him. He wasn’t fooling anybody.

They sat in silence for a moment, Charlie focused on dealing with her own embarrassment, until finally, Ryan gave up trying to study. He lifted his head again, putting on what he thought was his best Charlie imitation.

“Excuse me, but what is the compact shelving system? Can you show me so we can get squeezed really tight together in there? Thank you so much.”

“Oh my God!” Charlie breathed, and before Ryan had a chance to protect himself, she grabbed a book off the table and smacked him on the arm with it.

“Ouch!”

“Your own fault.”

“I can’t believe you pretended not to know how  _ compact shelving _ works, C.”

“I -” Charlie started, but Ryan interrupted her just a moment later, his grin growing even wider.

“You knew she would have to show you if you asked about it, didn’t you?”

“I just wanted a chance to actually talk to her, okay?” Charlie said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I’ve been running out of excuses to go up to the desk.”

“Fair enough.”

The two students were sat in the living room of Ryan’s house, books strewn out over the table between them, mugs full of tea steaming next to them. They had met for a study session, yet it all had quickly devolved into Ryan teasing Charlie about her futile attempts to get closer to a certain library worker. Well, not so futile given their little accident the other day. The memory brought colour to Charlie’s cheeks, and she quickly grabbed her mug.

“Anyway”, she said, pausing to take a sip of tea and trying to sound as nonchalant as she could while not looking Ryan in the eye. “Turns out we had a class together last year.”

He looked up from his notes. “Oh? Which one?”

“Just a lecture. History of Women’s Rights?”

She should have known he would put two and two together as soon as she mentioned the lecture.

“Oh my God”, he breathed, eyes going wide. “It’s  _ her _ , isn’t it?”

Charlie swallowed. “Hm?”

But her attempt at feigning innocence was absolutely futile. Ryan knew her way too well for that.

“It is!”

He jumped off the chair now, rounding the table to sit next to her on the couch instead. All the while, Charlie was still trying to avoid his gaze.

“Charlie, don’t pretend with me. Seriously did you think I would forget how you  _ raved _ about a girl for an entire semester?”

He grabbed Charlie’s notebook, clutching it to his chest, a mock-dreamy look on his face. “Ryan you should have seen her. The way she got into that fight with Professor Oswald? It was  _ fierce _ .”

“I hate you”, she groaned, ripping the book from his chest.

“Nah”, he grinned. “You love me.”

Instead of replying, Charlie simply huffed.

“So you told her you remembered her? That’s brave, man.”

Again, Charlie felt her cheeks grow warmer. “No.”

“No?” Ryan said, looking confused for a moment, before the truth dawned on him. “But you said - hang on, did you pretend you  _ couldn’t _ remember?”

“Maybe”, Charlie grumbled, and as Ryan started laughing once again, she shot him a defiant glance. “What was I supposed to do? Walk up to her and be like “Hey by the way we took this lecture together  _ a year ago  _ with over  _ two hundred _ other students but you stood out to me and I have been thinking about you ever since?”

At that, Ryan stopped, and for the first time that evening, he didn’t look like he was about to tease her.

“Woah”, he breathed. “This whole time?”

When Charlie didn’t reply, he leaned closer towards her. “C, this is serious, isn’t it?”

Charlie bit her bottom lip, clutching her mug tighter in her hands. “Maybe.”

“Ask her out!”

Charlie groaned, placing her mug back down on the table and finally facing Ryan. “I can’t just walk up to her and ask her out, Ryan. A girl like Yaz… it needs to be special! I need to ask her out with a bang, you know. Work my way to it and then really knock her off her feet. I don’t stand a chance otherwise. If I even do in the first place. I have no idea if she’s even gay.”

Ryan frowned. “Hm. Any way we can find that out?”

Charlie sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t know anyone who knows her.”

At that, the grin returned to Ryan’s face. “Actually, you do. As do I.”

The moment Charlie saw the look in his eyes, she knew exactly who he was talking about.

“Oh no”, she hissed through clenched teeth. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare bring Graham into this!”

“Bring me into what?”

“Graham!”, Charlie exclaimed, plastering a broad grin on her face as she looked over at the man, standing in the door to the kitchen. Next to her, Ryan let out a chortle, and she kicked him straight in the shins underneath the table. He wheezed, then picked up a book, quickly sticking his nose into it. He was holding it upside down.

“How’s it going?” Charlie asked, and the older man smiled.

“Dinner’s almost ready, kids. You staying I suppose?”

Charlie nodded eagerly. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

Graham’s cooking was phenomenal, and Charlie would never say no to staying over for dinner or lunch. She spent most of her time at Ryan’s house anyway, since student housing wasn’t great and she avoided her own flat as much as she could. Besides, as Ryan so lovingly pointed out whenever he had the opportunity, she would probably starve to death on her own anyway. “Custard creams are not a meal”, he would say. Charlie disagreed on a fundamental level.

As soon as Graham had disappeared back into the kitchen, Ryan dropped the book into his lap, and his eyes were gleaming with mischief.

“Maybe gramps could get you her number, I’m sure it’s in the system.”

“Ryan -”

“Hey gramps!  _ Gramps!” _

Before he had a chance to do anything more, Charlie threw herself on top of him, pushing his stomach into the couch as she held him in a fake chokehold. “Don’t you dare”, she hissed into his ear, and Ryan laughed.

“Mercy!”, he said, and Charlie eased her hold on him just a little bit.

“You won’t bring Graham into this?” she asked, her free hand hovering over his side, where she knew he was  _ extremely  _ ticklish.

“I won’t, I won’t! Mercy!”

“Fine.”

With that, she let him go, and he scurried away as quickly as he could, returning to the other side of the table. They continued studying until Graham appeared with a plate of food a few moments later, and Charlie jumped up, leaving her notes behind to follow the smell of the delicious roast over to the dining table.

  
  


\---

  
  


Grace returned almost at midnight that day, her shift at the hospital having run longer than planned. When she walked into her home, she followed the sound of clanging dishes, and found her husband standing over the sink in the kitchen, soapy sponge and plate in hand.

“Hello, love.”

He turned around with a smile on his face, and she went to place a soft kiss on his lips.

“Tough shift?” he asked, and when she nodded, he put the dishes down and wordlessly reached for the kettle. Grace smiled as he took a bag of her favourite tea out of the shelves. Graham knew her well.

“How was your day?” she asked, leaning against the wall as she watched him taking up the dishes once again.

“Oh same as always. The library was quiet today.”

“How’s the new kid?” 

Grace remembered Graham hiring someone not that long ago, he had mentioned it over dinner. A lovely young woman, he had said. 

“She’s doing well”, he replied, smiling. “Very diligent, can’t complain. Although I think she’s having a bit of trouble with Charlie.”

Grace frowned. “Why?”

“Oh you know Charlie, she can be a bit of a whirlwind”, he replied, chuckling, and Grace smiled.

He turned around a few moments later, handing her a cup of tea, which she gratefully accepted. The warmth from the mug quickly spread through her hands, and she lifted it up to breathe in the scent, humming in content as the spices hit her nose.

“Talking of Charlie, I see she’s staying the night again?” Grace asked. She had seen the familiar blue-greyish coat as she had walked into the house, together with the heavy brown boots that the blonde seemed to wear no matter the weather outside.

“She is!” Graham said, and Grace had to bite her lip as she saw a familiar hopeful smile appear on her husband’s face.

“Don’t you think they’re acting even closer than usual?” he said, picking up a plate to dry it off. He continued chattering as he placed it into the cupboard, sounding all excited. “I saw them in the living room before and they were all over each other.”

“Hmh.”

“I could have sworn I heard the words “love you”, Grace.”

“Did you now.”

“Yes! I think those two might finally realise they’re perfect for each other. Or -”

Graham’s eyes went wide as a new thought flashed through his mind. “Do you think”, he said, putting another plate down and turning towards Grace. “Do you think they’ve been together all this time and they’ve just never told us?”

At that, Grace could no longer hold it in, and a hearty laugh tumbled over her lips, much to the obvious confusion of her husband.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, and the way he sounded a little bit offended made Grace decide that it might finally be time to let her husband in on something.

“Graham, my love”, she said, placing her tea mug down on the table and walking up to him. She stopped in front of him, placing both hands on his cheeks. “Charlie’s gay.”

Grace would have paid a million pound just to see the expression that was plastered on her husband’s face right now. His eyes wide, his mouth having fallen open, she could practically see a thousand memories run past his inner eye like a movie, each and every one of them being reassessed.

“The rainbow shirts”, he finally said, with the tone of a man who realised he should have definitely known all along.

“Yes.”

“The fascination with women’s football.”

“Also yes.”

“That old subaru she drives.”

“Now now, my love, we don’t want to fall prey to stereotyping here, do we.”

When it looked like Graham had processed this new information, Grace leaned in, placing a lingering kiss on his lips.

“Now, thanks to you, I have to go and put twenty quid in our grandson’s pocket.”

Graham frowned as Grace dropped her hands, walking past him and towards the door. “What for?” he called after her.

“He bet you wouldn’t figure it out on your own”, she called out over her shoulder, and winked.

“Graham O’Brien”, he mumbled to himself as he picked up the next plate. “You daft old man.”

\---

Upstairs, Ryan’s bedroom was illuminated by nothing but the soft glow of a small screen. Lying on the floor next to the bed of her loudly snoring best friend, Charlie had a blanket pulled up to her chin, one hand sticking out, holding her phone.

The library website had added Yaz’s picture today, and all Charlie had been able to do for the last twenty minutes or so was stare at it.

Maybe Ryan was right. Maybe she did just have to ask Yaz out. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

_ The excruciating experience of rejection _ , a voice in her head said, but Charlie stuffed it down.

In the silence of the O’Brien home, she started to hatch out a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :)


	4. Chapter 4

Although Graham was ready to admit that he might have been just a little bit slow in catching up when it came to Charlie, he still prided himself on his usually impeccable observational skills. He had spent the last two weeks watching something unfold right in front of him, and there was no doubt in his mind this time around about what it was that he was seeing. It was happening again right now, and he caught a glimpse of it all through his slightly ajar office door. His view on the circulation desk was perfect, and he watched with a silent smile as Charlie leant over the desk, whispering conspiratorially and with mock seriousness on her face. Shortly after, the sound of Yaz’s laughter, slightly muffled by a hand immediately covering her own mouth, rang through the air.

Though he had been blind to the non-attraction between his own grandson and Charlie, he knew that what he was seeing right now was very much the opposite of that. The two women seemed equally determined to make a good impression in front of each other, and they were blushing so frequently that it bordered on ridiculous. He was also beginning to worry slightly about Charlie being even more of a walking safety hazard than she usually was; the blonde seemed to lose all control over her limbs whenever Yaz was around - dropping books on her feet, running into open locker doors, poking her hand with a pencil. It was equal amounts adorable and concerning.

Graham might have wished for Charlie and Ryan to become an item, but now that he knew that was out of the question, his feelings towards Charlie hadn’t changed in the slightest bit. She was family, and always would be. And one should always help out family whenever one could.

And so Graham had taken to slightly rearranging the carts that carried the returned books, making sure that whatever belonged in a shelf close to the lounging area landed at Yaz’s desk. Every time, Yaz’s eyes would light up as she saw the codes on the spines of the books, and Graham would suppress his own smile.

He might have been an oblivious daft old man for far too long, but now that he knew, he definitely got Charlie’s back. 

  
  


\---

  
  


Charlie had started to leave her notes in the library books she was returning. Yaz had almost missed the first one, too caught up in trying to call out after the blonde - after all, students were only supposed to leave the desk once the respective librarian had checked if there were no late fines on the book. But since Yaz knew who Charlie was, and was sure to see her again during her next shift, she sat back down at her desk with a sigh, and put the book on the grey surface connected to her screen.

After a flash of information confirmed to her that there were indeed no late fines on the book, she automatically picked it up and ran her thumb over the side, making sure nothing had been left behind inside the book.

A little piece of paper fluttered out from between the pages, and landed on her desk.

_ A book fell on my head. _

_ I can only blame my shelf. _

Against her own will, a snort escaped Yaz and she immediately ducked her head and checked left and right if anybody was annoyed by the sudden noise. Yet she was alone at the front desk, and she picked up the piece of paper to hold it in her hands. She turned it around, and tried to ignore the slight sting of disappointment when there was nothing written on the back. What had she expected?

_ A phone number _ , a quiet voice in her head whispered, but she pushed it away. Charlie was probably just joking around with a new friend, that was all.

But the notes had become a thing since then. Every time Yaz had a shift, Charlie would bring back books at least once, and every time, there was a note left in the top book. They were nothing more than silly library puns each time, but Yaz loved them, and by now, she could barely wait until Charlie was out of sight until she opened the book to see what was in there today.

“Hiya, Yaz”, Charlie said, grinning as she put down another book on the desk between them. “Just bringing this one back before I head in. You doing alright?”

Yaz nodded, smiling as a by now familiar flutter made itself known in her chest. “Yup. Just sorting through some e-books today, making sure everything’s tagged alright.”

Charlie suddenly looked serious, and she leaned over Yaz’s desk, whispering.

“Have you noticed how annoying the e-books have gotten lately?”

Yaz frowned, confused at the unusual question, but before she could say anything, Charlie continued:

“They don’t have any shelf awareness.”

Again, the laugh escaped Yaz before she could stop herself, and she covered her mouth with one hand, trying to stifle it.

“You’re an idiot”, she mumbled, and Charlie grinned.

Seemingly satisfied with herself, the blonde withdrew, turning towards the entry to the reading halls. “See ya!”

As soon as Charlie was through the doors, Yaz opened the first book, pulling out the little piece of paper that was in there, as expected.

Except she hadn’t exactly expected this.

_ Mind if I check you out? _

Yaz was sure that her face had gone the deepest shade of red that was humanly possible. The note, with six simple words, confirmed what Yaz had been silently hoping for weeks now, and what, in all of her useless gayness, she had been unable to convince herself was true.

Charlie  _ was  _ flirting with her.

Yaz felt her own mind race at neck-breaking speed through every interaction she’d had with Charlie over the past weeks.

The way the blonde had blushed when she had first looked at her, and how Yaz had told herself it was because she had felt embarrassed about being reprimanded.

The countless times Charlie had come up to her desk, asking for things Yaz was absolutely sure she should actually already know, and how Yaz had told herself that Charlie might just not have used the library much before her PhD, however improbable that was.

The moment in the compact shelving area, their bodies almost touching as the shelves literally started to push them together, and the way Charlie hadn’t immediately let go of her hand after, and how Yaz had told herself it was probably because of the shock of almost getting crushed.

Charlie was  _ flirting with her _ .

“Oh God”, Yaz breathed, staring ahead while not registering anything that might have been happening around her. “Oh stars.”

For whatever reason, the thought that Charlie  _ wasn’t _ flirting with her had made it easier for Yaz to be around her. If there was no chance for her at all, Yaz might as well throw the occasional comment in about how Charlie’s t-shirt looked cute on her, or how she had seen a book on the shelves that had made her think of her.

Now that she knew, she found that the mere thought of talking to Charlie made her throat swell up in a way that made words impossible. The irony of what she had hoped to be true actually somehow making things  _ more  _ difficult wasn’t lost on Yaz.

Shaking her head, she ripped herself out of it. She was a grown woman. She could do this. It wasn’t that hard. Charlie was still the same person she had been just ten minutes ago, when it had all been a fantasy in Yaz’s head.

Anyway, maybe the pun today had just been a silly joke like all the others. It probably was, at the end of the day.

Yet when Charlie returned to the circulation desk at the end of Yaz’s shift, the woman found that her palms were unusually sweaty, and somehow she couldn’t properly look Charlie in the eye. The slight concern that clouded Charlie’s face after a while wasn’t lost on Yaz, and suddenly, she was seized by the fear that her reaction might tell Charlie entirely the wrong story.

_ Khan _ , a voice in her head spoke firmly.  _ Get your shit together. _

Smiling, she forced herself to look up at Charlie as she handed her back her books, and although the blonde responded in kind, Yaz could still see the worry in her eyes.

_ Say something, for the love of - _

“I’ve got this one to return still, forgot it before”, Charlie said, pulling a book from her bag and handing it over.

“Oh, no problem.”

She realised that Charlie was getting ready to leave, and felt the pressure of saying something grow inside of her. Taking a breath, she made a decision. If Charlie could do it, she could do it.

“Hey uhm”, she started, and Charlie, having been reaching for the stack of books on the desk, stopped, looking over at Yaz.

“Hm?”

The blonde looked hopeful, and it gave Yaz the courage she needed to actually go through with this.

“I think you have some overdue books.”

Charlie reacted before Yaz had a chance to say anything more. “Oh no, again?” she said, leaning over the desk to glance at her file on Yaz’s computer. “I swore I got everything right this time, I put the dates in my calendar and everything!”

When Yaz didn’t say anything, Charlie threw her a questioning glance.

“I think you have some overdue books”, Yaz repeated, and then, before Charlie could interrupt again, quickly added. “‘Cause you’re looking really fine.”

Charlie’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open in an almost comical way as patches of red crept up her neck and onto her cheeks.

“I -”, she began, then closed her mouth again, only to open it a second later. Meanwhile, her entire face was now the shade of a very ripe tomato, and Yaz wondered if she had done something wrong.

“Ha!”, Charlie finally exclaimed, picking up the pile of books. “Funny. You’re a funny one. Very… Right. See you? Soon? Alright. Bye!”

And with that, Charlie bolted out the door, quicker than anyone Yaz had ever seen.

“Oh God”, Yaz groaned, dropping her head in her hands. “She thinks I’m an idiot.”

It took her a full five minutes to recover from the pure embarrassment and dread that the interaction had filled her with, and when she finally pulled the book Charlie had left towards herself, she was almost surprised when she saw another slip of paper inside.

Yaz was confused at first as her eyes fell upon the words scribbled in by now familiar crawly letters, until she realised that this note was directly connected to the last one. She pulled it out of her pocket, and put them next to each other on her desk.

_ Mind if I check you out? _

_ If you don’t, come meet me at the ChemLab, Saturday 6 pm. _

Suddenly, her previous embarrassment had all but vanished into thin air as Yaz’s pulse quickened and a grin spread over her face.

“Charlie”, she mumbled, still staring down at the paper in front of her, as if she wanted to draw the words off the page and right into her heart. 

Suddenly, two days felt like the longest wait of her entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Charlie in the ChemLab... I mean, what could possibly go wrong?


	5. Chapter 5

“And you need the chem lab because…?”

Charlie was wringing her hands behind her back. She was beginning to realise that she should definitely have gotten this part sorted  _ before _ slipping Yaz that note, but alas, it was too late to back down now.

“I need to do an experiment for my thesis, professor.”

“Just Doctor is fine.”

She frowned. Most professors were quite keen on having their title used, and even though she knew the head of the astrophysics department was an exception, it still surprised her every time. The man insisted on being called “The Doctor” - going so far as to say that it was his  _ name _ \- and it had taken Charlie her entire first year of studies to find out what the man’s actual name was. That, and finding out what it was that he was actually supposed to be teaching, since walking in to his lecture could get you anything from poetry to quantum mechanics. Not that Charlie had ever minded - she liked a good challenge for the brain.

“Doctor”, she started again, trying to put on her best innocent face, hoping that he would not question what she was about to say. “I just need to visualise a part of my thesis that I have trouble wrapping my head around.”

He stopped, looking up from his desk for the first time since she had entered the room. At the same time, Charlie allowed herself to glance down at what was covering the surface between them.

The man had been organising vinyls. He had good taste, too, from what Charlie could see.

“Well, what is it you don’t understand? I can help.”

Charlie clenched her jaw, trying to let her expression remain neutral. “No need to waste your time, Doctor. Besides, I like tinkering and figuring stuff out on my own, if you don’t mind.”

At that, a smile covered the old man’s face, and his bushy eyebrows lifted. “Ah, good approach. Always try and see what you can figure out yourself before just trusting somebody else’s explanation. Alright then, Smith. I’ll put you in for Saturday morning, 10 am.”

“Ah”, Charlie started, blushing as the Doctor lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes?”

“Could it be more, like… in the evening? Nightowl, me. Brain works better after sunset.”

It wasn’t her best work of persuasion, yet it would have to do.

“Young people”, the Doctor grumbled as he pulled a piece of paper out of a stack, filling in something and then handing the signed version to Charlie. She quickly looked down, and grinned when she saw the time: 5 - 8 pm. Plenty of time to set everything up before Yaz got off her shift.

“Thanks, Doc!” she beamed, then turned around on her heels and quickly walked out of his office before he could change his mind. On her way down the otherwise deserted corridor, a young black girl rushed past her, and it took Charlie a moment to realise where she knew her from. But by the time she had identified her as the girl who usually served chips in the uni cafeteria, she had already disappeared into the Doctor’s office, closing the door behind herself.

Charlie was too focused on the piece of paper in her hand and the excitement she felt at the prospect to finally ask Yaz out - in style, so she hoped - to hear the strange grating noise, muffled through the thick wooden door of the Doctor’s office, yet still audible, that rang down the hallway.  


\---   
  


Thursday came and went, and although Yaz’s favourite lecture was happening, she found herself barely able to sit still all throughout it. On Friday, she tried to get some homework done, but found herself lacking concentration, to the point where she just closed her laptop and gave up, deciding to watch telly with her sister instead. By the time Yaz got to the library on Saturday afternoon, she was a nervous wreck and was beginning to worry she would make an absolute fool out of herself later. After all, this would be the first time that she and Charlie would actually meet up, outside of chance meetings in the library.

_ Mind if I check you out? _

It was a silly pun, yet Yaz had been unable to stop thinking about it for the past two days. The words crept up on her throughout her days, suddenly blasting to the forefront of her mind and appearing in neon letters so she simply couldn’t look away. She had tried, at first, but then had quickly given up. Friday night she had spent lying in bed, holding up the piece of paper and just staring at it, for she didn’t know how long.

Really, it was kind of embarrassing at this point.

But then the image of Charlie’s smile appeared in front of her inner eye, and the somersaults in Yaz’s stomach told her that there was no use fighting this.

Her shift felt excruciatingly long on Saturday, and she kept eyeing the clock on the wall opposite her desk. By the time it hit 5:30, Yaz’s palms were beginning to sweat, and she was so absentminded that she accidentally tagged an e-book about physics as  _ Charlie _ . She groaned, quickly erasing the tag and replacing it with an actual one, silently hoping that Graham hadn’t been checking up on her through his own computer. Not that he seemed like the kind of boss who would actually do that, but the thought alone was enough to make Yaz feel absolutely mortified.

At two minutes to six, she logged off, grabbing her leather jacket and throwing it on. She sat at the desk for another minute then, eyeing the door to Graham’s office. One minute. Surely he wouldn’t mind one minute.

“Bye Graham!” she called out, jumping out of her chair. She was out of the library before she could hear her boss’ reply, and took the stairs up to the chem lab two at a time. When she arrived in front of its door, she realised that she was out of breath, and took a moment to at least try and calm her own breathing.

Gathering all her courage, she finally pushed open the door. Inside, Charlie was leaning over what looked like a chemistry experiment, her eyes covered by goggles that Yaz thought looked adorably nerdy on her. 

The blonde looked up at the sound of the door opening, and grinned, pushing the goggles up onto her forehead. She was wearing a labcoat, and Yaz felt her mouth go dry at the sight.

“Yaz!” Charlie beamed, then walked towards her, stopping awkwardly a couple of steps away. She shoved her hands into her pockets as she began bouncing on her feet, back and forth. “I’m really glad you showed up”, she finally said, her gaze trailing on the floor.

“Course I did”, Yaz replied, swallowing as the admission caused her heart to flutter. She suddenly felt like she didn’t know what to do with her hands, and so she decided to shove them into the pockets of her leather jacket, mimicking Charlie’s stance.

“So”, Yaz began, looking past Charlie to eye the desk at the back of the room.

“Yes!”

Charlie whirled around, a childish excitement on her face, and Yaz couldn’t help but laugh. The blonde rushed to the desk, retrieving what looked like a small remote control, then motioned at Yaz to come closer. 

“Stop there”, Charlie said, eyeing the distance between the desk and Yaz. Seemingly deeming it safe, she went and stood next to Yaz.

“Right”, she said, turning towards Yaz and handing her a pair of goggles. “Yaz.”

She stopped, and Yaz watched as she took a deep breath. “Yaz”, she said, reaching out to take her hand, causing another flip in Yaz’s stomach. “I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I think you’re pretty awesome, and if you’re okay with it, I’d like to ask you something.”

Yaz’s gaze fell onto Charlie’s hand, clasping her own, and a warm feeling spread through her chest. She nodded, and Charlie grinned in response.

“Right”, the blonde said, sounding like a child about to reveal an extraordinary discovery to her parents. “Goggles down.”

Yaz obliged, briefly letting go of Charlie’s hand to put the goggles on. The feeling was new and unfamiliar, yet forgotten as soon as Charlie took her hand once again.

The blonde pushed a button on the little remote she was holding, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, Yaz noticed a spark on one side of the table, and suddenly, the whole setup was engulfed in a flash of bright, blue light. Yaz gasped, and then, a moment later, her brain began to register the words that had appeared in front of her, suddenly visible by what had been covering them burning away.

_Will you go on_ _a_ -

The next moment, the air around them was filled with a loud bang, and something pushed into Yaz. It wasn’t very strong, yet enough to make her lose her balance, causing her to tumble backwards and land most uncomfortably hard on her butt. Her ears were ringing, and it took her a moment to discern the noise in her ear from the noise coming from outside the room.

_ The fire alarm _ , she thought, blinking rapidly as she tried to put the world around herself back into focus. When she did, she came face to face with Charlie, bending over her, looking worried and guilt ridden.

“Yaz?” she asked. “Yaz are you alright?”

Yaz nodded stiffly, accepting the hand that Charlie offered her and letting herself be pulled up onto her feet. Something felt weird, and it took Yaz another moment to finally fully adjust to her surroundings.

It was raining.

“What the”, Yaz mumbled, holding out a hand in front of her, watching water splashing onto it.

“Sprinklers”, Charlie mumbled, her face now completely red. “I’m so sorry Yaz, I wanted to -”

Yaz leaned to the side, looking past Charlie. “Oh my God”, she breathed. 

“I -”, Charlie began, taking a step closer towards Yaz. “I’m really sorry, I must have mixed up one of the components. I just wanted… I really wanted it to be special, and look where that has gotten us. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Once again, Yaz nodded, then looked up at Charlie, finally realising that the blonde was standing mere inches away from her, one hand on Yaz’s arm, her face still scrunched up in worry. A piece of paper, singed on one end, slowly floated down from the ceiling in the corner of Yaz’s vision, the word “date” written on it with curly letters.

“You wanted to ask me out”, Yaz said, quietly.

Charlie’s blush grew deeper, and she nodded. “I wanted it to be really special for you.”

“You blew up the school Charlie.”

“I did not!”

“There’s a hole in the desk."

“I - A  _ minor _ mishap, perhaps.”

“Minor?”

Charlie’s face was now pulled into a pout, and Yaz had to clench her jaw in order not to break into laughter. But then the blonde looked up at her, and as their eyes met again, an image suddenly flashed through Yaz’s mind, of herself just throwing her arms around Charlie’s neck, and leaning up to kiss her. 

She stood still, the water running down her entire body, causing her clothes to stick to her features. All that they did was simply look at each other, and Yaz found that she could not breathe from the urge of wanting Charlie’s lips on her own. It was all she could think, all she could feel, her skin growing numb with an unspoken desire, her lungs burning for air that she denied them.

When Charlie leaned in, Yaz thought her own heart might go up in flames, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the relief of -

“What the  _ hell  _ were you doing?”

They jumped apart, Charlie stumbling into a chair, Yaz drawing in a sharp breath, finally filling her aching lungs with air.

An old professor with the angriest eyebrows that Yaz had ever seen stood in the doorway, and she glanced over at Charlie to find her face being drained of any colour.

“My office, Smith. Now.”

The man turned around then, and a moment later, the sprinklers above their heads stopped.

“I have to go”, Charlie mumbled, then added sheepishly: “I think I’m in trouble.”

The blonde grabbed her coat hanging over one of the chairs, miraculously untouched by the small explosion just moments earlier. When she reached the door, she stopped, and turned around to look at Yaz.

“Will you?” she asked, and Yaz frowned in confusion.

“What?”

“Go on a date with me.”

This time, Yaz couldn’t stop the laugh from tumbling over her lips. “Yes, you idiot.”

The grin that spread over Charlie’s face was so bright it could have put the sun to shame.

“Brilliant”, she said, and in the next moment, she turned around and was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3


	6. Chapter 6

It was, without a doubt, the most adorable thing that Charlie had ever witnessed. Unbeknownst to Yaz, Charlie was leaning against one end of the shelf, watching her work away in absolute concentration on the other.

“There you go”, Yaz whispered, quietly smiling as she slotted the book she had been holding into its place between the others. As she picked up the next, she frowned. “Ah”, she mumbled. “You don’t go here, do you?”

Charlie remembered then, the way Yaz had sat at the edge of her seat in that lecture hall, brows furrowed as she called something the professor had said into question. She had been absolutely unwilling to give in, continuing to argue her point until Professor Oswald - who never shied away from a challenge - had finally told her that they would have to continue their argument next time.

If that show of passion and intelligence had made Charlie weak in the knees, what she was seeing right now filled her with silent admiration. There was something to be said about the attractiveness of a bold character - yet a private moment such as this that promised a heart full of kindness would forever reign supreme to Charlie.

Yaz picked another book from her cart, holding it with both hands as her eyes wandered over the shelves, closer and closer to where Charlie was standing until -

“Oh.”

The blush that graced Yaz’s cheeks as soon as their eyes met made Charlie’s heart jump in her chest and a grin spread over her face.

“Hi”, she said, and pushed herself away from the shelf to walk towards Yaz.

“Hi”, Yaz mumbled, fingers beginning to fumble over the spine of the book in her hands.

Suddenly, an image flashed through Charlie’s mind, of Yaz with her hair matted to her neck and her eyes shining before she began to close them. It had only been two days, yet Charlie was overcome once again with the urge to kiss the other woman. Slowly, she reached out with one hand, placing it on top of Yaz’s to stop their nervous movements.

At that, Yaz finally looked up again, and she smiled shyly.

“Did you get in trouble?” she finally asked, and Charlie wondered if their minds had both gone to the same place just then.

“Nah”, she said, using her free hand to wave dismissively. “I have to pay for the desk though. And I’m on lab assistant duty for the entire next semester.” She scrunched up her face, thinking about the speech Professor Lochhead had given her. “Also”, she continued, “I think he threatened to throw me into a supernova? I have to say I’m not quite sure if he was serious about that one.”

Yaz chuckled, and it made Charlie’s heart warm. Her gaze dropped as she suddenly became aware that her hand was still on top of Yaz’s. As she looked up, Yaz was fixing her with an intense stare, and suddenly the room around them tumbled out of focus as Charlie felt her throat go dry. She leaned forward, placing her free hand on the shelves behind Yaz, and she felt her heartbeat quicken as she noticed Yaz’s lips parting. “Yaz”, she mumbled, leaning closer.

“Hm?” Yaz replied, her eyes dropping to Charlie’s lips.

“Excuse me?”

The fragile moment was broken as quickly as it had started, and Charlie immediately dropped her hand from the shelf, taking a step away from Yaz, who was blinking sluggishly as if someone had rudely awoken her from sleep.

“Yes?” she finally said, turning towards the person at the other end of the shelf.

The student was clutching a book to their chest, their free hand nervously running through their short, almost white hair. They looked slightly uneasy about whatever it was they had just interrupted. “I uhm…”, they mumbled, cheeks growing red. “You work here, right? I’ve seen you at the front desk.”

“Yeah, yeah I do! Can I help you with something?”

Charlie watched as Yaz smiled, obviously trying to put the other student at ease.

“I’m a new student and uhm… I don’t know how this…”, they looked down at a piece of paper in their hands, frowning. “Compact shelving thing works?”

“Ah”, Yaz replied. “I’ll show you.”

She shot Charlie a glance then, before looking back at the other student. “I’ll be with you in a sec.”

The student nodded, stepping away from the shelves, and out of sight. Yaz turned to Charlie, smiling apologetically. “Sorry”, she said. “I gotta go and work.”

“Of course”, Charlie replied, although she felt a slight twinge of disappointment in her chest. A memory appeared in front of her inner eye, of her and Yaz pressed close together between the compact shelves, and suddenly the disappointment was accompanied by a hint of something else. 

_ Jealousy _ , Charlie realised as she tried to fight the feeling down.

“Right”, she said. “I’m gonna go and get some research done. See you later?”

“Yeah”, Yaz said, but there was something unspoken in her eyes. “See you later.”

They stood in silence for a moment, until Charlie finally decided to give an awkward little wave -  _ what are you  _ doing?, she chided herself - and turned around.

Suddenly, there was a hand wrapped around her arm, and before Charlie knew what was happening, she was being turned around and pulled, and a second later, Yaz’s lips were pressing against her own.

After a brief moment of confusion, the switch in Charlie’s head was flipped. Putting her hands on Yaz’s hips, she pushed her back, causing the brunette’s back to hit the shelves once again. A small moan tumbled over her lips as she suddenly felt Yaz’s body against her own, and Yaz’s hands wrapped around her neck just a moment later.

When they finally broke apart, both women slightly out of breath, Charlie couldn’t help the goofy grin that spread across her face. Yaz responded by playfully slapping her on the arm, although it was clear that she herself was only barely able to contain a grin.

“I’ll see you later?” she said, her other arm still draped over Charlie’s shoulder.

“Yeah”, Charlie breathed, and with a final peck on the lips, Yaz slipped away and walked off.

Charlie had rarely been able to get that much research done in a day. After the kiss, her mind went into complete overdrive, and she spent the rest of the afternoon and evening darting back and forth between shelves, drawing out books here and there, working through a massive portion of them at high speed. All the while, the grin that had spread over her face after Yaz had kissed her remained, so much that her cheeks almost started hurting and the other students at the library began to throw her curious glances. She probably looked like a complete lunatic, yet she found she absolutely did not care. She was happy, and her entire body was buzzing, from her toes to her fingertips, all she could feel being a profound excitement and bliss at what a wonderful turn her life had apparently taken.

Even Ryan’s teasing texts, which had been coming in at random intervals all since yesterday, didn’t annoy her. One of the things that had always connected her and Ryan was that they both loved puns and corny jokes, although Ryan tended to use his powers for evil.

_ I can’t believe you asked her out… with a  _ bang _. _

_ What an  _ explosive  _ start to a relationship. _

_ Did you guys kiss? Did it  _ blow her mind _? _

“Little shit”, Charlie mumbled as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket, but the bubbling feeling in her chest remained and so did the smile on her face.

As the clock in the middle of the lounging area struck the final half hour before closing time, Charlie felt herself begin to grow impatient. She hadn’t really been able to catch a glimpse of Yaz ever since the other woman had gone off to help that student, and she found herself increasingly distracted. She was just in the middle of trying to figure out a diagram in her book, when suddenly she felt a hand softly graze her back, sending a tingle down her spine.

She turned around quickly, almost dropping the book out of her lap in the process, and saw Yaz between the shelves, turning her head just as she disappeared out of sight, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Charlie really didn’t need to be asked twice.

A few moments later, Charlie once again found herself pressed up against Yaz, their lips hungrily dancing against each other. They were sneaking away into a barely hidden spot in a very public space to make out, but Charlie found that she didn’t mind. Actually, she quite liked the thrill of it.

As her hands roamed over Yaz’s back, pulling her even closer, she felt Yaz’s hands travel into her hair. She moaned softly, momentarily forgetting their surroundings and the need to be quiet, but then Yaz suddenly stopped, pulling back.

Charlie blinked, trying to regain focus of the world around her which had completely melted away during their kiss.

“Charlie”, Yaz said, her voice sounding low in a way that made Charlie’s heart tumble. “Your hair… is that?”

It took Charlie a moment to put two and two together and realise what Yaz was referring to. Smiling, she reached up to the left side of her head, and flipped her hair over.

The moment Yaz’s eyes fell onto the previously hidden, shaved side of Charlie’s head, her eyes went dark.

“That”, she breathed, her eyes still fixed on Charlie’s hair. “Looks so good on you.”

At this point, Charlie’s heart was making acrobatic flips in her chest, and the only thing she could do was lean down and envelop Yaz’s lips in another kiss. Once again, the other woman’s hand snuck up into her hair, only now she was letting her fingertips gently scratch over the shaved spot, and it drove Charlie absolutely crazy.

_ She is going to be the death of me _ , she still managed to think, but then Yaz’s tongue pushed against her lips, and as Charlie opened her mouth, the last rational thought flew out the window.

When they came up for air, god knew how much later, Charlie opened her eyes to a dark room around them.

“Huh?” she mumbled, blinking as she tried to regain focus. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden darkness around them, she began to see the dim gleam of security lights over their heads.

“What the -” Yaz began, slowly untangling herself from Charlie’s arms. Then, the confused expression on her face began to slowly morph into complete and utter panic.

“Charlie”, she whispered. “Did you hear the closing bell?”

Charlie frowned, shaking her head. The bell rang three times, in five minute intervals, before the library closed down for the evening. And even then, it usually took the library team a couple of minutes to actually lock everything up. There was no way they could have missed all that.

Could they?

As if in trance, Yaz was slowly walking out of the row of shelves, towards the lounging area. As she emerged, turning her head to look up at the clock, her face went pale.

“Charlie”, she breathed, her eyes wide. “They closed the library fifteen minutes ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) if you liked it, please consider leaving a comment. They make my day :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry that there was no update last week - between writer's block and thesis stress, there was no way for me to get it done on time. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait though! :)

“What do you mean they closed the library down? Somebody has to be able to let us out!”

“Charlie, it’s a quarter past nine, nobody is here except us.”

“Well you work here, don’t you have a key?”

“They don’t give out keys to the student who works here eight hours a week!”

Yaz immediately felt guilty as she saw the deflated look on Charlie's face. The blonde dropped her shoulders, pushing her hands into her pockets as her gaze dropped to the floor. Letting out a long breath to let at least a part of her anxiety go, Yaz took a step towards the other woman.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

It took a moment, but then Charlie looked up again, and a shy smile returned to her lips. “S’okay”, she mumbled, then looked past Yaz down the empty halls of the library. “I can’t believe it took us a full fifteen minutes to realise we were alone in here.”

“Well”, Yaz replied, feeling her cheeks heat up. “We were busy.”

All of a sudden, Charlie was laughing. A deep hearty laugh that took Yaz completely by surprise, yet a moment later, she found herself chiming in. The whole situation was just too absurd not to, if she was being honest.

As the laughter subsided, Yaz began to wonder once more how they might still get themselves out of the building. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.

“Hey Charlie”, she said. “Aren’t you friends with Graham’s grandson?”

Charlie’s face lit up as she realised what Yaz was suggesting. “Of course!”, she exclaimed. “Let me call him real quick.”

Yaz watched as Charlie took her phone out of her pocket, fingers tapping over the screen, finally lifting it to her ear. A second later, the blonde was frowning, and Yaz’s hope wavered.

“Oh come on”, Charlie hissed. Dropping her phone, she turned to Yaz with an apologetic look on her face. “He's not picking up. I’ll send him a text, and hopefully he'll see it soon. I remember him saying something about a date.”

Yaz sighed. “So we’re stuck for now?”

“We’re stuck.”

They stood in silence for a moment, both women just staring down the empty rows of books. When Yaz turned back to look at Charlie, the blonde has a mischievous grin on her face. 

"Charlie-" she started, slightly weary of whatever it was the other woman was planning.

"I've got an idea."

Before Yaz could stop her, Charlie darted past her, towards the broad steps that lead down to the lounging area. On the left side, there was a pile of neatly stacked pillows, which students could use to make the steps more comfortable to sit on. 

"Charlie!" Yaz called out, but then the blonde was already busy plucking pillows off the steps, throwing them down towards the chairs at the bottom. 

Before Yaz could catch up with her, Charlie turned around, jumping down the stairs. She walked up to Yaz, still grinning. 

"We'll have to pass the time somehow, eight? Meet me back here in ten minutes, bring your favourite book." 

Yaz frowned, slightly unsure if whatever it was that Charlie was planning being actually allowed. But then she remembered that, technically, they were already breaking the rules just by being here during the night. Whatever it was Charlie had in mind probably couldn't make things worse. Could it? 

Charlie must have seen the worry on Yaz's face, because she placed a hand on Yaz's shoulder, and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her cheek. 

"Trust me", she whispered, and Yaz felt her skin grow warm. 

"Alright", she mumbled as Charlie pulled back. Then, suppressing a grin, she added: "As long as you don't blow up the library while I'm gone." 

Charlie pulled her face into a mock pout in response, crossing her arms. "Low. Blow", she whispered, before swirling around dramatically and picking up the pillows off the floor. 

"Ten minutes!" she chimed as Yaz walked away, up the stairs and out of sight. 

The library looked slightly eerie, illuminated by nothing but the dim emergency lights. Yaz felt a shiver run down her spine upon seeing rows after rows of semi-darkened shelves, but her mind quickly turned to Charlie waiting for her and it calmed her irrational fear of the shadows. She let her fingers glide over the book spines as she squinted, trying to make out the titles on them. Finally having found what she had been looking for, she smiled, pulling the familiar volume out. 

When she stood once again at the top of the stairs a few minutes later, she couldn't believe her eyes. 

There, in the middle of the lounging area, Charlie had built the most majestic pillow fort Yaz had ever seen. She had draped what Yaz assumed was her coat over two chairs and the back of one of the couches, and had filled the space underneath with mountains of pillows, effectively creating a little cave. In the middle of it, the blonde sat, cross-legged, the biggest grin on her face as she waved up at Yaz, holding a book in her free hand.

_ She’s beautiful _ , Yaz thought, and felt her cheeks grow warm. Maybe being locked in here with Charlie overnight wasn’t so bad after all.

As she crawled into the space underneath Charlie’s coat, the blonde leaned back against the couch, stretching out her leg and opening her arm. Feeling the heat in her cheeks grow even warmer, Yaz sat down next to her, and, after giving herself a little push, wrapped one arm around Charlie’s waist as she snuggled into her.

She could feel the blonde hold her breath for a moment, and her heart skipped a beat.

“So”, Charlie finally said, clearing her throat. “You first.”

“Huh?”

“Read me a bit from your favorite book!”

“Oh.”

Yaz looked down at the book, now pressed against her chest as her other arm was wrapped around the blonde. She hadn’t realised that Charlie would want to actually read their books out loud, and suddenly she felt incredibly silly for her choice.

“I’ll go first”, Charlie finally said, and Yaz breathed an inaudible sigh of relief as the other woman opened her book with one hand, holding it up behind Yaz’s back.

Yaz glanced up to see Charlie’s face fall into a very serious frown, and the blonde cleared her throat after taking a deep breath.

“My name”, she began in a somber tone, “is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black - ouch!”

Not missing a beat, Yaz had pulled away to grab one of the pillows at her side and throw it into Charlie’s face, before the laughter broke out of her in a snort.

“You”, she groaned through bouts of laughter, “are such an idiot!”

Putting the pillow back down on the floor, Charlie looked indignified. “This”, she said, “is  _ literature _ , Yaz.”

Yaz felt another laugh tumble over her lips, and Charlie grinned. “Gotcha.”

“No you don’t”, Yaz mumbled, and before Charlie could react, Yaz had thrown herself onto her, attacking her with the most vicious tickling tactics.

“Oh God”, Charlie wheezed, falling back into the pillows and trying to fend off Yaz’s hands between bouts of laughter. Finally, she managed to grab a hold of one of Yaz’s wrists, and in an swift maneuver that Yaz had not expected, turned them around. As Yaz’s back hit the pillows, Charlie was suddenly on top of her, pinning Yaz’s wrists over her head, their faces close together as a cheeky grin was painted over her lips.

Suddenly, Yaz’s breath was stuck in her throat, and her entire body went hot and cold all at the same time.

Not breaking her gaze, Charlie slowly leaned down, and then she enveloped her lips in a kiss so soft that Yaz thought she was going to melt away right there right then. As Charlie’s grip on her wrists softened, Yaz snuck her arms out and instead wrapped them around Charlie’s back, pulling the blonde closer, until she was lying fully on top of her, one leg firmly slotted between Yaz’s.

The feeling of Charlie’s leg pressing against her effectively switched off every rational thought in Yaz’s brain, and all she could feel was the fire pooling in her belly, and the way Charlie’s torso was pressed against hers, and how her tongue now danced against Yaz’s.

It was excruciating and beautiful all at the same time and Yaz never wanted it to end. She let her hands travel down Charlie’s back, tugging impatiently at the blonde’s shirt, faintly wondering if she was being too bold. But then, barely breaking their kiss, Charlie reached for the hem of her shirt, and pulled it over her head in one swift motion. Yaz caught only a glimpse of the blonde’s exposed torso before she was pulled into another kiss, but what she saw was enough to make her breath hitch in her throat and her skin suddenly feel like it was set on fire. As Charlie’s hand snuck under Yaz’s blouse and her kisses trailed down her neck, Yaz let her head fall back into the pillows, moaning softly. With deft fingers, Charlie made quick work of the buttons on Yaz’s blouse, pushing the material to the sides.

The moment Yaz felt Charlie’s breasts press against her own, now only separated by the layer of their underwear, the switch in her brain was flipped.

She pulled Charlie’s face back against hers, pressing her lips against the blonde’s as her hands travelled back down over Charlie’s back, frantically touching every piece of skin they could find, nails grazing, causing Charlie’s to pull back, eyes still closed, a moan escaping her lips.

Encouraged by the blonde’s reaction, Yaz started to kiss her neck, bringing her hands around so they were now between them. A moment later, she started to fumble with the buckle of Charlie’s belt, pulling on one end in order to free -

“Wait.”

Charlie was suddenly pushing Yaz away, gently. “Wait”, she repeated, breathless. Her face was red, and her chest was heaving, a sight that made Yaz’s heart speed up despite the fact that the blonde had just interrupted what Yaz was pretty sure until then had been leading to them having sex in the middle of the library, on the floor.

“I have to tell you something.”

The words, combined with the guilty look on Charlie’s face, made Yaz’s entire body go stone cold from one moment to the next. A thought, clear and painful, suddenly flashed through her mind. Charlie’s next words didn’t help, either.

“I lied to you. I -”

“Oh my God”, Yaz whispered, suddenly feeling like a complete idiot. “You’re seeing someone, aren’t you?”

Of course someone like Charlie wasn’t single. Of  _ course _ she had a gorgeous girlfriend somewhere, maybe studying in another city, and now the bad conscience had come knocking on her door.

“What?” Charlie asked, looking confused. “I’m -”

“It’s okay”, Yaz quickly said, pushing herself up and away from Charlie, pulling her blouse closed in an attempt to cover herself and save some of her dignity. “I get it, you have someone else.”

“Yaz -”

“I said it’s fi -”

“Yaz  _ I’ve liked you for over a year _ .”

That Yaz had not expected. She blinked, once, twice, her mouth opening and closing before she finally managed to form a single word. “What?”   
  
“Ugh”, Charlie said, dropping her head in her hands as blotches of red crept up all over her neck. “I lied, okay? I remembered you from Professor Oswald’s class. In fact”, she swallowed, sucking in a breath between her fingers, “I had a thing for you then and it never went away but then we didn’t take any other classes together and I didn’t know what department you were in and I didn’t know your full name but then I saw you working at the library all of a sudden and I just had to try and take my chance with you because goddamnit Yaz  _ you’re really special _ .”

The words had come out in an almost intelligible stream, leaving Charlie breathless and Yaz feeling like someone had just hit her over the head with a heavy object.

“And the reason”, Charlie finally continued after taking a couple of deep breaths. “The reason I pulled away just now… is because I…” She dropped her hands into her lap, glancing up at Yaz, barely holding her gaze. “Because I really like you, and I’ve liked you for longer than you know. And I didn’t just want to have sex with you, without even having taken you on a proper date. You deserve to be taken on a proper date, Yaz. And as much as I want -” her cheeks grew red again, and she gestured vaguely towards the floor between them “-  _ this _ , I don’t  _ just  _ want this. I want to be with you. And I want you to know that I care. Really, deeply, care.”

Yaz’s head was spinning. All she could do was look at Charlie as the blonde wrung her hands in her lap, now desperately trying to avoid Yaz’s gaze, swallowing hard every couple of moments as she patiently waited for Yaz to sort through her thoughts.

But all Yaz could think was: Charlie cared. Charlie cared  _ so much more  _ than Yaz had thought. And without missing another beat, she reached out towards Charlie, turning her head up to face her, and placed a soft, lingering kiss on the blonde’s lips.

“I like you, too”, she mumbled against Charlie’s lips. “I like you _ a lot _ .”

She felt Charlie smile against her lips, and then the blonde’s arms were wrapped around her shoulders as she pulled her close, both of them tumbling down into the pillows side by side. When they broke apart, Yaz couldn’t help herself from having what she assumed was the goofiest grin ever on her face.

“What?” Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow as she smiled back at her.

“You’ve liked me  _ in secret _ for  _ a year. _ ”

Charlie let out an exaggerated sigh, although she couldn’t hide the blush on her cheeks. “You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you.”

“Nope”, Yaz replied, grinning.

“Fair enough”, Charlie replied, wrapping one arm around Yaz’s waist and pulling her close. “Hey”, she suddenly said, “where’s that book you chose?”

Yaz felt herself blush, and she hid her face against Charlie’s chest. “Don’t know”, she mumbled. 

It was already too late however, as she felt Charlie reach out for something, followed by a soft “aha!” a moment later. “Got it”, the blonde said, and Yaz felt the burn in her cheeks intensify. 

But instead of the good natured teasing that Yaz had expected, she was surprised once again when Charlie simply pulled her closer, resting her chin on Yaz’s head as she began to read out loud.

“Once upon a time”, she said, “there was a young girl, who lived happily with her father and mother, until one day…”

Closing her eyes, Yaz breathed in Charlie’s scent, feeling as warm and safe as she hadn’t in a very long time. So lost was she in the feeling of Charlie holding her close in this intimate way, that as the blonde’s soft voice told her her favorite tale, Yaz felt herself grow tired. And just as Cinderella found her prince, Yaz drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) If you have a moment, please let me know your thoughts, I love reading your comments <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very late but here it is! I hope you enjoy the conclusion to this little story :)

When Charlie woke up, she realised four things, not at the same time, but in as quick a succession as her still half-asleep brain could muster. 

One, she was holding Yasmin Khan in her arms. 

Two, she was in a pillow fort, in the middle of the library. 

Three, Ryan's voice was persistently getting closer, calling her name. 

Four, she and Yaz were both half-naked. 

"Yaz!" 

The last realisation had finally jolted her into action. She shook Yaz awake, as gently as she could, her free hand searching around for their shirts, so carelessly thrown aside the night before.

"Hm?"

Yaz was blinking sluggishly, chasing the sudden loss of contact and edging closer towards Charlie's chest again. The sight made Charlie’s heart melt, but they didn’t have time for that now.

"No, no", she hissed. "Yaz, we have to get dressed, there's someone coming." 

At that, Yaz's eyes shot wide open, and she grabbed the shirt that Charlie was holding out towards her. 

Their efforts had been in vain. Yaz had barely lifted the t-shirt over her head, while Charlie had one arm inside her blouse (which she realised was turned inside out), as Ryan rounded the corner. The moment his eyes fell upon them, his jaw fell to the floor, and a second later one hand shot up to cover his own eyes. 

"Oh God", he groaned, as he turned away, looking very much ready to run. "Oh God  _ why. _ " 

"Ryan!" Charlie called out. "Ryan it's not - we didn't -". She felt her own face grow warm with embarrassment, finally finding no other words than the ones that had just left her best friend's lips a moment before. "Oh God."

"Ryan?", Yaz's voice came from behind her, and Charlie quickly turned to see a mix of confusion and curiosity on Yaz's face. "Ryan Sinclair?"

"Uh", Ryan mumbled in return, apparently not daring to turn around just yet, even though both women were, by now, once again fully clothed. "Yeah?" 

"It's Yaz!", Yaz said gleefully, seemingly completely unbothered by what had just happened. "Yasmin Khan! Redlands primary?" 

"No way!"

"Wait", Charlie said, her still sleep-clouded mind slowly catching up on what was happening. "You two went to school together?" 

At that, Ryan finally turned back around, taking a proper look at Yaz for the first time. Charlie saw a snap of recognition, and then a grin spread over Ryan’s face as he turned towards her. 

"You didn't tell me it was Yaz you were thirsting after all this time!" 

" _ Ryan! _ " 

Charlie wanted a hole in the floor to open and swallow her up. This was definitely not how she had thought her best friend and Yaz meeting would go. It didn't help that Yaz was now looking at her, one eyebrow lifted, a grin spread over her face as well. 

"You didn't tell him my name?" 

Charlie groaned. "Because he already endlessly teased me about all this, I didn't need to give him the additional ammunition of a name."

Ryan shrugged. "Fair enough. I  _ am  _ a little shit sometimes."

"You are  _ always _ a little shit, Ryan."

Ryan's shit-eating grin only grew wider at that, and he began wiggling his eyebrows at her. "So", he said. "Did you guys sleep well?" 

"Oh my -" 

Before Charlie even had a chance to finish the sentence, a pillow flew right past her, hitting the unsuspecting Ryan square in the face. 

He stood completely still, and as the pillow fell to the floor, he looked so dumbfounded that Charlie couldn't help but break out into laughter, the remnants of her previous embarrassment finally washing away with it. 

She got up then, turning around to offer a hand to Yaz, who accepted it with a smile. The warmth of Yaz's hand in her own still felt as perfect today as it had yesterday, and Charlie knew she would never be able to get enough of it. When Ryan cleared his throat, Charlie realised they had been standing still, just staring at each other, and she finally let go of Yaz's hand. She missed the feeling of it immediately. 

They put the pillows back into their place then, and finally moved the couch back to its original spot. In the end, they stood awkwardly in front of Ryan, unsure of what to do next.

Charlie was racking her brain for some stupid pun she could use to break the ice once again settled between them. Fortunately, somebody else beat her to it, saving her from another round of embarrassment.

"There you are!"

Charlie turned to watch Graham hurry down the stairs, his hair dishevelled from obviously having gotten up in a gurry, and a guilty look on his face. 

"I am so sorry", he said, finally stopping in front of them, slightly out of breath. "Yaz, I just thought you had left already, your jacket was gone and I-" 

"Graham, it's alright", Yaz said, smiling at the older man. "It was our own fault, we lost track of time… talking." 

Her cheeks turned endearingly darker towards the end of the sentence, and Charlie loved it. Oh, how they had lost track of time. It had been brilliant. 

"Well that must have been a very fascinating discussion you two had been having", Graham said. He looked strangely excited, Charlie thought. But then again, he was probably trying not to feel too guilty about locking them in overnight. 

"Still", he added. "I feel like you two deserve a proper apology. How about dinner at my house tonight?" 

"Oh", Yaz said, suddenly looking shy at her boss's invitation. "Graham you don't have to-" 

"Nonsense", the man said, waving a hand dismissively. "I locked you in here, the least I can offer you is a meal to make up for it." 

Charlie smiled, and felt her stomach rumble at the same time, remembering she hadn't had dinner at all last night. "You know I never say no to your food, Graham."

"Then it's a date", Graham said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "I'll see you kids at around 7?" 

They both nodded their agreement, and Graham scurried off, mumbling something about "the perfect meal" under his breath. 

"What has him so excited?" Ryan asked, watching his grandad practically skipping up the steps. 

"No idea", Charlie laughed. "But I'm not gonna complain if the result is food." 

The two women said their goodbyes a few moments later in front of the university - Yaz had a class she actually needed to get to, and Charlie knew she herself was going to faint on the spot unless she ate an amount of breakfast that was at least meant for two people, if not even three. What had been them awkwardly standing in front of each other, both unsure how to do this, had quickly turned into another impromptu makeout session, only vaguely hidden behind one of the pillars that surrounded the university’s facade. When they finally broke apart, Yaz had to run to her class, and the last thing Charlie heard was her mumbling about how she couldn’t believe she literally slept at uni and was still going to be late for her class.

\---

Charlie found herself unusually nervous as she stood in front of Ryan’s house later that day, a hand hovering over the doorbell. Two fingers on her left hand were bandaged up - she had managed to burn herself while making breakfast that morning, completely lost in her memories of Yaz’s lips against her own.

She paused, wondering if Yaz was inside the house yet, and how they were going to deal with this situation tonight. They hadn’t really discussed it, whether or not it would be alright to show some affection in front of others, or if they would still be keeping it all a secret for now.

Charlie didn’t want to keep Yaz a secret. In fact, she found that she wanted to scream it all from the rooftops, as loudly as she could, and she was barely able to contain herself.

When she finally rang the bell, it was Ryan who opened the door for her, and behind him, Yaz stood awkwardly in the living room, her face lighting up as soon as she saw Charlie.

“Hey you”, she mumbled as she smiled at her, their hands grazing ever so slightly against each other as they sat down next to each other on the table.

“Charlie!” Graham’s voice rang out from the kitchen. “I hope you brought your appetite.”

At that, Ryan snorted. “You know she always does, gramps.”

Charlie used the opportunity to kick his shin under the table, and he hissed. “Why”, he groaned, “do you keep doing that.”

“I could ask you the same”, Charlie replied, as she innocently took a sip from her glass of water. She glanced over at Yaz, and winked at her. The blush that, as expected, crept up Yaz’s cheeks was always worth it. Somehow, she looked even more beautiful like that.

Dinner was a lovely affair, with Grace, ever so observant, quickly realising Yaz’s slight awkwardness and pulling her into a discussion about her studies. Graham, on the other hand, kept throwing Charlie glances that she could not translate, and decided to ignore in favor of a small argument with Ryan about which women’s football team was most likely to win the cup this year. All the while, Yaz and Charlie were trying to keep their hands off each other as best as they could, with moderate success. They kept finding each other’s hands under the table, briefly intertwining their fingers only to let go a moment later. At some point, Yaz’s hand had come to rest on her thigh, and Charlie had almost choked to death on a piece of chicken. After that, they were a bit more careful.

Until, that was, Yaz suddenly caught a glimpse of Charlie’s left hand, which had rested in her lap until then, hidden away from view.

“Charlie!” she exclaimed, promptly and seemingly without a second thought reaching out for the injured hand. She gently took it into her own, examining the bandages and looking up with worry in her eyes. Charlie felt the skin on her neck grow warm at the sudden attention, and she smiled sheepishly. “Burned myself while making breakfast”, she mumbled. “I got...distracted.”

Her skin grew even hotter at her own words, and the look in Yaz’s eyes turned soft. “Idiot”, she whispered, and for a moment, Charlie felt the urge to lean forward, forgetting that they were actually not alone. Until Ryan proceeded to loudly clear his throat, and Charlie dropped her hand as if it had been burned a second time. She briefly glanced up at Graham, who still had that curious look on his face, and Grace, who simply smiled. After that, she barely managed to look Yaz in the eye anymore, fearing she would give them away as soon as she did.

When they sat over cups of tea a little while later, Graham, who had been usually quiet for the whole evening, finally piped up.

“So Yaz”, he said, putting his mug down. “Got anyone special in your life?”

For a second time that evening, Charlie choked as burning hot liquid suddenly found its way into her windpipe, and this time, Ryan came to the rescue with generous pats on the back.

“Actually”, Yaz said as Charlie’s breathing calmed down. “I do.”

“Oh”, Graham replied. He looked disappointed, Charlie noticed, and began to feel even more confused. She threw Ryan a questioning look, but all her friend did was shrug.

“It’s pretty new”, Yaz continued, shifting in her chair while desperately clinging to her own mug.

For some reason, that seemed to cheer Graham up. “Oh well”, he said. “Don’t forget there’s plenty of fish in the sea! Don’t want to tie yourself down too soon. You never know, there might be someone even better right in front of you.”

He was obviously trying to say these things as casually as possible, yet judging by the looks his wife threw him, Charlie wasn’t the only one who thought that he was being increasingly weird.

“Graham, love”, Grace finally said. “Do you want to help me in the kitchen with the dishes?”

As soon as the couple had disappeared into the next room, Ryan burst out into laughter.

“Oh my God”, he wheezed. “Your  _ faces _ .”

Before Charlie could retort, she felt Yaz’s hand wrap around her own.

“I think I need some fresh air”, she mumbled, and pulled Charlie with her towards the patio door.

As soon as they stepped out into the cool night air, Yaz took a deep breath, rubbing her forehead. “Charlie”, she finally said. “Is my boss trying to set me up with his grandson, or am I going crazy?”

“I -” Charlie began, ready to dismiss the idea, but then she remembered the countless times Graham had made these kinds of comments to her, clearly hoping for something more to exist between herself and Ryan.

“Oh my God”, she groaned. “He tried the same thing with me and Ryan!”

Yaz’s eyes went wide, and she dropped the hand from her forehead. “With you?” she asked, sounding absolutely incredulous. 

“Yup”, Charlie nodded.

An unreadable expression darted across Yaz’s face, and her gaze fell to the floor. “Did you two ever…”

It took Charlie a moment to understand what Yaz was getting at, unimaginable as what the other woman was insinuating was to her. But when she did, she took a quick step towards Yaz, taking one of her hands into her own. 

“Dear God, no”, she said. “Never.”

Before Charlie could say anything else, Yaz had whirled around, throwing her arms around Charlie’s neck and pressing against her as she drew her into a deep kiss. When she pulled away, Charlie stood dumbfounded, her mouth open.

“What was that fo-”

“I want to be your girlfriend.”

Charlie blinked, once, twice, looking at Yaz and the fierce fire suddenly burning in the other woman’s eyes.

“I want to be your girlfriend and I want everybody to know.”

“Oh thank God”, Charlie finally breathed, and then she pulled Yaz into another kiss, not caring if Graham or anyone else could see them from inside the house. “Me too”, she said as they finally broke apart again, and then both women were smiling, standing in the garden with their arms wrapped around each other, determined to never let each other go.

Inside the house, Grace was listening as Graham excitedly rambled on while doing the dishes, handing them to her one by one to dry off.

“I mean”, he said, “I know she said she is seeing someone but did you see the looks she threw at Charlie? I might be old, but I’m not blind, Grace.”

“I -”, Grace tried to interrupt him, not for the first time in the last ten or so minutes.

“And when she took her injured hand? I could feel it in the air.”

“Love -”

“And whoever that other person is, the one she’s dating, they can’t be anywhere near as good as our Charlie. I swear to you Grace, those two will -”

“Graham.”

Grace had taken a step towards him, finally managing to stop the torrent of words coming from her husband’s mouth by gently placing a hand on his.

“What?” he asked, a beautifully naive look on his face as he looked up. It made Grace smile, and as she glanced over his shoulder, that smile only broadened. She nodded towards the window, prompting Graham to turn around.

“Look.”

As her husband turned to look out into the garden, Grace leaned over to see the look on his face, and was not disappointed. His eyes went wide, his mouth falling open.

“Is that…”

“Yes.”

“Are they…?”

“Also yes.”

“Oh.”

Inside the house, with a laugh, Grace gently turned her husband’s face towards her, placing a kiss on his lips.

Outside, Yaz and Charlie stood watching the stars.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you liked this story, please consider leaving a comment :)
> 
> You can come talk to me on Tumblr, I am @fuxdeiflswued


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